Nesting shopping cart



' 1956 G. A. JUST ETAL NESTING SHOPPING CART 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct.2, 1953 FIGZ INVENTORS GEORGE A. JUST LANSING P SHIELD ATTORNEY w MW J 21956 G. A. JUST ETAL NESTING SHOPPING CART 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct.2, 1953 INVENTORS GEORGE A JUST FIG6 BY LANSING P SHIELD ;vv7 ATTORNEY2,766,049 NESTING SHQPPTNG CART George A. Just, Scarsdale, N. Y., andLansing P. Shield,

Saddle River, N. Company, ware Application October 2,' 1953, Serial No.

Claims. (Cl. 28t9-33.99)

3., assignors to The Grand Union East Paterson, N. 5., a corporation ofDela- This invention relates to wheeled market baskets or carriers ofthe type used in self-service stores to enable customers to select andgather together articles they wish to purchase so they may be brought toa checking station for packing and payment.

The carriers heretofore used for this purpose take up a great deal ofspace near the entrance of the store in which they are employed and theyfrequently become so jumbled together that it is diilicult for customersand clerks to find a passage about the carriers. Some prior carriershave been constructed with longitudinally tapered baskets having theirrear and larger end walls movable to allow one basket to be pushedlengthwise into another for nesting together. However in suchconstructions, the basket projects forward from a vertical support atthe rear of the Wheeled base and in order to prevent tilting of thecarrier when loaded, the base and support must necessarily be of heavyconstruction. Such tapered construction also limits the weight and maybe nested in a space of only 2 to 4 inches without jamming orinterlocking.

The present invention relates to modifications or im- Another object ofthe invention is to provide an improved type of carrier wherein thebasket of the carrier is tiltable sideways into position for nestingwith other carriers.

precludes accidental Patented Got. 9, 1956 An additional object of theinvention is to provide a vet and horizontal carrying position.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improve nestingeasily in a limited space to manufacture while providing baskets.

These and other objects and features of the present invention willappear from the following description thereof in which reference is madeto the figures of the and which is economical a stable support for theIn the drawings:

Fig. l is a wheeled Fig. 2 is a plan view showing four carriers of thetype shown in Fig. 1 arranged in nested relation;

Fig. 3 is an end view of a pair of carriers of the type shown in Fig. 1arranged in nested relation;

Fig. 4 is a detailed view illustrating a preferred type of adapted foruse in the construction of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detailed view of a typical pivot device which may beemployed in the construction shown in the drawings; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

in that form of the invention of light material.

greater than the distance between legs 28. spaced legs 25 of one carriertherefore are capable of receiving the lesser spaced legs 28 of anothercarrier therebetween permitting nesting of the carriers by lateral orthe carrier upon such sideways movement of one carrier with respect toanother. The sides and ends of the baskets same direction may relationby sideways other.

The baskets are preferably formed of Wire or other strong lightweightmaterial.

be nested together in space saving movement of one carrier towardanlimited in capacity. In contrast to such tapered constructions, thelength of the base tion, and, therefore, are

and of the basket 16 may be increased as desired to increase thecapacity of the basket. The pivot pins 18 and 29 about which the basketis movable on the supports 12 and 14 are mounted at the opposite ends ofthe basket and rigidly secured in place by mounting plates 32 and 34,respectively. The mounting plates illustrated extend downward from theupper reinforced edge 36 of the basket. The pivot pins 18 and arepreferably positioned slightly below the center of gravity of the emptybasket assembly. These pins are also positioned slightly to one side ofthe center of gravity on the side toward which the basket tilts, thedirection of tilting being controlled by the arcuate surface 52 referredto below. With this construction the basket may be tilted easily whenempty and will be substantially centered with respect to the supportingarms 12 and 14 when moved to the nesting position as shown in Figs. 2and 3. The reinforced edge 36 preferably also is extended upward oroutward at opposite ends of the basket to provide a convenient handlefor pushing or pulling the basket as it is moved from place to place inthe store in collecting the merchandise to be purchased.

Any suitable type of locking device 22 may be used to hold the basket 16in its horizontal position. However, the construction illustratedincludes a locking plate 38 mounted on the upper end of the verticalsupporting arm 12 and provided with a vertically extending pivot slot 48designed to receive the pivot pin 18 on the mounting plate 32. A lockingslot 42 is also formed in the locking plate 33 and located below thepivot slot 40 in position to receive a locking pin 44 fixedly secured tothe mounting plate 32 below the pivot pin 18. The locking slot 42 isformed with a laterally extending open end through which the locking pin44 is movable and by which it is guided as the basket is tilted aboutthe pivot pin 18 in moving from the dotted line position to the fullline position of Fig. 4. The inner end of the locking slot 42 extendsvertically as indicated at 46 and is designed to receive the locking pin44 on movement of the basket to a horizontal position corresponding tothe full line position of the elements shown in Fig. 4. When so movedthe locking pin will drop downwardly into the vertical locking portion46 of slot 42 while the pivot pin 18 will move downward in the pivotslot 40. When thus located the pivot pin and locking pin cooperate tohold the basket 16 locked in its horizontal carrying position no matterwhat load is placed in the basket. Moreover, the heavier the load in thebasket the more difficult it is to move the basket out of its lockingposition. Therefore, it is almost impossible for any accidental movementof the basket to cause tilting thereof.

The vertically extending supporting arm 14 at the opposite end of thebase 10 is provided with a pivot plate 48 which receives the pivot pin26) on the mounting plate 34 secured to the basket 16. A guide pin 50 isalso secured to the mounting plate 34 and projects therefrom intoposition to move along the arcuate surface 52 of the pivot plate 43. Theabutment 54 at the lower end of the arcuate surface 52 is engageable bythe guide pin 50 to limit movement of the basket toward its horizontalcarrying position whereas abutment 56 at the upper end of the arcuatesurface 52 is engageable by the guide pin 50 to limit movement of thebasket toward its lateral nesting position.

In using the carrier described the customer merely pulls the carriersideways from its nested position with the other carriers and tilts thebasket to a horizontal position. The tilting of the basket causeslocking pin 44 to move downward and inward from the dotted line positionof Fig. 4 until it strikes the lower laterally opening side of thelocking slot 42 in the locking plate 38. Upon completion of the pivotalmovement of the basket the locking pin moves inward along the lower edgeof the locking slot until it enters the vertical portion 46 whereuponthe basket is free to drop by gravity into locked position by downwardmovement of the pivot 18 in the pivot slot 40. During such pivotalmovement of the basket the pivot pin 20 at the opposite end of thebasket rotates with respect to pivot plate 48 while guide pin 50 travelsover the arcuate surface 52 of the pivot plate until it engages abut- Vment 5 The basket is then ready for use and is rigidly d ll held againsttilting movement. Moreover, the basket is positively supported at bothends so that it will not sag even when heavily loaded with merchandiseand it is moved to its locking position by the weight of the articlesplaced on the basket. The base of the carrier with its outwardlyspreading legs 26 and 28 provides a well balanced mounting for thebasket as it is moved about from place to place in collecting thearticles which the customer wishes to purchase.

When the customer has made the desired purchases and the carrier hasbeen emptied at the checking station, the carrier is ready to bereturned to its nested relation with other carriers. The clerk thengrasps the basket at or near the center of the locking end and lifts ituntil locking pin 44 is raised above the vertical portion 46 of thelocking slot. At the same time the pivot pin 18 is raised to the upperend of the pivot slot 4%). The basket is thus released and rotates bygravity to the nesting position wherein the guide pin 59 at the otherend of the basket engages the upper abutment 55. The basket then hangsin nesting position on its side. The clerk thereafter pushes the carriersideways toward other nested carriers whereupon the lesser spaced legs23 pass between the wider spaced legs 26 of another carrier causing thebasket 16 to nest within the basket of the other carrier. Theconstruction thus provided is such that each carrier will nest in lessthan three inches with no interlocking of one carrier with another sothat they are easily separated for reuse when desired.

As described herein, when the basket is tilted the open top thereoffaces toward the side of the base from which the wider spaced legsextend. However, so long as all carriers are arranged for tilting of thebaskets toward the same side of the base, the baskets and bases willnest effectively. it is therefore desirable to employ pivot and lockingmeans for the basket which restrict the tilting movement in the samemanner.

While the baskets used are preferably formed of heavy wire as described,they may be formed of flexible netting, fabric or other material.Moreover, any suitable or preferred type of basket pivoting and lockingmeans may be used and the shape, style and construction of the base andbasket support may be changed considerably if desired. In view thereofit should be understood that the particular embodiment of the inventionshown in the drawing and described above is intended to be illustrativeonly and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A carrier comprising a base having two pairs of oppositely anddownwardly extending legs thereon. one pair of said legs being spacedapart longitudinally of the base a greater distance than the other pair,permitting sideways nesting of said base with the base of anothersimilar carrier, basket supporting means extending upward from saidbase, near the opposite ends thereof, an elongated basket pivotallymounted adjacent the opposite ends thereof on said basket supportingmeans for sideways pivotal movement toward one pair of said logs from ahorizontal carrying position to a tilted nesting position, and meansreleasably holding said basket in said horizontal carrying position.

2. A carrier comprising a base having two pairs of oppositely anddownwardly extending legs thereon, one pair of said legs being spacedapart longitudinally of the base a greater distance than the other pair,permitting sideways nesting of said base with the base of anothersimilar carrier, spaced basket supporting means extending cooperatingplvot means on the basket and supports near tion to a tilted nestin thelongitudinal center line of the basket permitting sideon the basket ands ways tilting movement of the basket from a horizontal horizontalcarrying carrying position to a tilted nesting position, and releas-Said basket and support for limiting movement of said able locking meansfor holding said basket in said horibasket toward said tilted nestingposition. zontal carrying position. 57 A carrier having a base embodyinga generally 3. A carrier comprising a base having two pairs of U-shapedbasket supporting member having two pairs of oppositely and downwardlyextending legs thereon one 1 oppositely and downwardly extending legssecured to the pair of said legs being spaced apart ongitudinally of thelower portion of said supporting member, one pair of said ase a greaterdistance than the other pair, permitting legs being attached on eachside of sald supporting memsideways nesting of said base with the baseof another her and the legs on one side of said supporting membersimilar carrier, spaced basket supporting means extending being spacedapart a distance greater than that separating upward from said base,near the ends thereof, a generally the other pair of legs to permitnesting of the base of one rectangular basket positioned between saidsupports coopcarrier with the base of another, a basket pivotallysuperating pivot means on the basket and supports located ported at itsends between the ends of the supporting near the longitudinal centerline or" the basket permitting member, cooperating pin and slot lockingmeans on said sideways tilting movement of the basket from a horizontalbasket and supporting member for releasably locking said carryingposition to a nesting position, releasable locking basket in ahorizontal carrying position, and cooperating means for holding saidbasket in said horizontal carrying means on said basket and support forlimiting movement position, and means restricting tilting movement ofthe of said basket toward a tilted nesting position wherein baskettoward the side of the base from which extend the open top of the basketfaces the side of the base from the wider spaced legs. which the widerspaced legs extend.

A carrier comprising a base comprising a generally U-shaped basketsupport, two pairs of oppositely and References Cited in the file ofthis Patellt downwardly extending legs secured to the lower portion ofsaid support, one pair of said legs being spaced apart UNITED STATESPATENTS longitudinally of the base a greater distance than the 2,590,048Sides Mar.18, 1952 other pair, said basket support including spacedupwardly 2,590,285 Wiltshire Mar. 25, 1952 extending arms positionedadjacent opposite ends of the 2,605,116 Alexander July 29, 1952

